Film and cameras that are all in one, commonly referred to as single-use or disposable cameras, have recently become well known. Typically, the single-use camera is a simple point-and-shoot type which comprises a plastic light-tight housing with a fixed-focus taking lens, a film metering mechanism including a rotatable sprocket wheel, a single blade shutter, a frame (exposure) counter, possibly a built-in electronic flash unit, and a decorative cardboard casing containing the light-tight housing and having respective openings for the taking lens, a shutter release button, a manual film advance thumbwheel, a direct see-through viewfinder, the frame counter, and a flash emission window. At the manufacturer, the light-tight housing is loaded with a 12, 24, or 36 exposure 35 mm film cassette and substantially the entire length of the unexposed filmstrip is factory prewound from the cassette onto a spool in the housing or simply into a roll. Then, after the photographer takes a picture, he or she rotates the thumbwheel to rewind the exposed frame into the cassette. The rewinding movement of the filmstrip the equivalent of slightly more than one frame width rotates the sprocket wheel to decrement the frame counter to its next lower-numbered setting. Further details of this operation are disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,235,366, issued Aug. 10, 1993, and in U.S. Pat. 4,890,130, issued Dec. 26, 1989. When the maximum number of exposures available on the filmstrip are exposed and the filmstrip is completely rewound into the cassette, the camera is given to a photofinisher who first removes the cassette with the filmstrip from the housing to develop the negatives and then forwards the camera to the manufacturer for recycling. The manufacturer, in turn, recycles the camera by loading it with another roll of film and repeating the foregoing prewinding process.
Prior art U.S. Pat. No. 1,411,982, issued Apr. 4, 1922, discloses a roll film camera in which, to load a roll film in the camera, a rear cover or lid must be opened and a supply spool with the roll film coiled about the spool is placed in a chamber at one side of an exposure or backframe opening. A string connected to a leading section of the roll film must be secured to a take-up spool in a chamber at an opposite side of the exposure opening. Then the rear cover is closed and an exterior manual winding key for the take-up spool is rotated to wind the string onto the take-up spool and pull the film across the exposure opening to the take-up spool. If, however, the string is broken, the system fails.